My first day of lap steel playing!!! Man am I bad!!!!!
My question is do I cut off all notes by blocking with the right hand, do some by lifting the bar and let the left hand do it? Is this one of those things that players just do their own way (as is my suspicion)?
Playing a 6 string EH125 in C6 tuning. Learning Texas Playboy Rag from an Eddie Rivers recording. I have a feeling he is in a different tuning as there are some notes I can't get, but I am very close. I will probably tweak a few things so they sit better in C6.
Here's some info from my "Exploring C6th Lap Steel" book that can be helpful. There are other methods of blocking as well but this will get you going. This relates to any tuning ...
When I first started, this seems like something I could never learn. I basically just kept playing and playing and now it is something I do all the time but never think about. I don't think I use all the proper techniques, but I just play like me. Pick blocking is the most awkward and still awkward for me , but as I keep playing I realize it is becoming more automatic.
I don't think it is worth stressing over. As you play you start to figure out how to make the sounds you want to hear. In a recent interview with Jeremy Wakefield he said something to the effect of, if an unwanted note is ringing, it must be stopped in some way. That is kind of my approach. I am sure there are better ways, but this worked for me.
I’ve gotten pretty good at blocking but it’s because when I am playing/practicing, I am using the method that is conducive to achieving the end result I need. Certain methods of blocking impact the way your playing will sound, so once you have the skill of each method of blocking in your bag, you can use as you see fit.
Pick blocking is kind of like playing fingerstyle guitar and using a rest stroke. It’s a pretty natural move if you have that guitar experience.
Palm blocking requires a little more effort but for playing chords, it is essential. If you like that bouncy, staccato playing of Bakersfield pedal steel guitar, palm blocking is a great way to get you there. It relies on coordination and good timing.
Bar blocking is a type of blocking where you move the bar off the string to stop the note from sounding. You can lift or pull the bar back, but you have to be careful not to generate overtones or pull offs. I use this a lot for more complex moves and also for my economy picking.
Finger blocking is something I use on occasion and it requires you to use a finger from your picking hand to stop a note. Let’s say I am playing a three-note chord and want to slide up a few frets to another chord, but one of the strings needs to be blocked—this is where finger blocking comes in. Works best with no picks.
Those are some just examples that I use regularly, there may be one or two things I am leaving out. But don’t get caught up in it, just take a piece if music and work your way through it using whichever method is working for you and not affecting the sound of the notes too much. You don’t want to choke notes out or sound choppy when you don’t mean to. The goal is to make everything sound effortless. A good piece of music to start with is Steelin’ The Blues by Jerry Byrd.
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links
Scales, arpeggios, slants, and those other 'less fun' things that you should practice a little each day are a great time to focus on pick-blocking and pitch. If you do it with a fairly slow metronome you'll find that you're incorporating pick blocking more than you realize pretty quickly. I also tend to focus on it after I've 'learned a song' and am cleaning it for performance.
I don't know enough slide players in person to confirm this, but would guess that like myself most folks are really using a combination of pick blocking, muting, and other things to get their desired result.
Andy, Tim, Mike and Gregory thank yo so much! I apologize for all the newbie questions as I'm sure you've answered them many time before.
Andy, that post is exactly what I needed. I saw you post individual arrangements so I bought the Steelin Home one. Do you happen to have a link to yourself playing this or is this a straight transcription of Jerry?
This forum is full of really nice folks and I want to thank you for the welcome! I'll try not to be a pest.
On Day 1, everybody is the worst steel guitar player ever. Raise your hand here, anybody who hasn’t been?
Didn’t think so.
Lots of good blocking tips from several formerly bad / now great players.
As to the question about playing the instrumental tune you linked, I don’t think 6-string C6 is gonna cut it. My guess is Eddie was playing an E6, A6, or possibly E13 neck, and probably it was an 8-string. Also, as you can see in the photo of him on the YouTube screen, he is very fond of playing multiple neck guitars, and it sounds like he might be switching from one neck to another on Texas Playboy.
Something that really helped me get used to palm blocking was thinking in reverse - instead of blocking the note after you've picked it, start with your palm down on the strings and release the note or chord as you pick. The default mode is always the blocked string or strings, you always return there. As my friend once told me, "Just release the note when you want to hear it."
Have fun with your playing, I'm sure you'll be up to speed very soon,
LC
And yes, Eddie plays that in A6. Try it! You can just retune from c6 using the same string set. C# E F# A C# E Having the “5” as the first string will make Texas Playboy Rag make plenty of sense.
"The Masher of Touch and Tone"
-1950 Fender Dual Pro 8
-1950's Fender Dual Pro 6
-Clinesmith D8
-Clinesmith 8-string Frypan
-Clinesmith Joaquin
-~1940 National New Yorker
-~1936 Rickenbacher B6
-Homebuilt Amps
